blog post

  Hello!  Thanks for your interest in the Oasis of the Seas -- as part of the Cruise Planners convention, Brandon and I had a chance to spend 2 days onboard, and I'm reporting back as promised.  First, allow me a few quick disclaimers:

1.  We were only onboard one full day and parts of two other days so we were not able to experience every dining or entertainment venue, and all of our meals and drinks were included.

2.  We didn't actually go anywhere (most of the time we could see Ft. Lauderdale and Miami on the horizon).

3.  We had to take our luggage onboard and off again with us, so our embarkation/disembarkation experience was somewhat different than what normal passengers would experience.

That said, I thought I would start with the embarkation process:  

One of my pre-cruise questions was, “How hard/easy is it to get 5400 passengers on/off a ship this big?  I’m pleased to report that Royal Caribbean has figured out how to do it very smoothly.  They begin by sorting passengers according to cabin deck, so when you walk into the main embarkation area it’s self-explanatory where to queue.

Brandon and I got there a bit after 2:00, so we were behind the early arrivers and did not experience any lines.  The only point where there was any back-up was when the staff held passengers back a couple of times in order to keep the gangway from becoming over-crowded.  The gangway is very steep and the line is never likely to move too fast -- I do not recommend carrying on more  rolling luggage than you can easily control on slopes, or shoulder bags that are too heavy.

We did observe that there is a huge passenger waiting area.  I’m going to recommend that you not try to board too early -- you will be assigned a boarding group (this is after you've already checked in at the desk and received your room keys) and forced to wait until called.  Arriving sometime between 1:30 and 3:30 will probably be about right for the smoothest and fastest embarkation.

We got an upgrade to a balcony cabin on a higher deck, so we had a bit of an issue with our keys and entertainment reservations, but the staff was prompt to fix it.  The room was pretty typical, although not as big as the balcony stateroom I had aboard the Caribbean Princess.

People had asked us to report back about the room amentities and the balcony, and I'm happy to let you know that the balcony is spacious for sitting out on, there is adequate storage for all your stuff, there is a refrigerator, and the shower has those nice sliding doors.

The beds were very comfortable and we were able to control the temperature in the room very nicely.  We have no complaints about the room or issues to report that you might face -- you should be quite comfortable in any of the balcony stateroom categories.

Another client had asked me to let her know about the internet access in the room, and I am thrilled to report that it worked very smoothly and fast!  You have to go to one of the computer station areas to sign up, but then you can use your own laptop in your room.  I'm sorry I can't report on the cost -- it was free to me on the pre-inaugural.  In a later posting, I'll have Brandon's impressions on the flat-screen TV and the ship's systems that you can access from it.

Next post -- what the ship is like!